Fixations and Visual Attention Flashcards
T/F The eye is NEVER motionless
true
What is the functional fovea area?
+/- 30’ of arc discrete area on the retina within which images are held
What happens to the discrete area on the retina the longer fixation is held?
longer fixation=larger area
What are three types of movements (subconscious)
tremors, drifts, and micro saccades
What is a tremor?
constant, high frequency 30-100 Hz, amp 20” of arc, no VA change
What is a drift?
low velocity <0.5 Hz, crosses 15 cones/sec, irregular movement
What is a microsaccade?
1-2/sec, corrects drift, large dynamic overshoot component, error correcting, amp of 5’ of arc, amplitude dependent relation
Which movement is always binocular?
micro saccades
Which movement do eyes perform most of the time?
drifts (95%)
Which movement is superimposed over the other two?
tremors
What factors impact movements?
peripheral gaze direction increases probability of movement, darkness: less steady and more drifts/correcting saccades
During normal fixations, what is the relationship between drift and microsaccades?
Drifts and micro saccades move in the opposite direction and drift is error producing and occurs 95% of the time while micro saccades are error correcting
What two things make drifts worse?
greater gaze angle and darkness– evidence of leaky neural integrator
What improves accuracy of fixations?
visual feedback
Even w/o visual feedback, deviation is typically only a few degrees, what does this suggest?
use of EOM proprioception and tactile info from lids
What are the three main types of abnormal fixation movements?
slow drift, saccadic intrusion, and nystagmus
What is a slow drift?
found with functional amblyopia, amp 1 degree, velocity <3 deg/sec, irregular, slow frequency <0.5 Hz
T/F VT will NOT fix a slow drift
false
What is a saccadic intrusion
large fixational saccade that interrupt attempts at fixation; three kinds= square wave jerks, macro square wave jerks, and macro saccadic oscillations
What is an aberrant tremor?
seen w/ EEG or coma patient because other movements usually cover them; baseline state of brainstem
What is a square wave jerk?
away from the target and then back 200 msec later; dx cerebellar disease if freq/amp increases
What is a macro square wave jerk?
larger, more frequency duration off target 100 msec; dx cerebellar disease and multiple sclerosis
What is a macro saccadic oscillation?
saccadic sequence increasing then decreasing amplitude to either side of a target; ALSO dx cerebellar disease